Oct. 17, 2007

SPOKANE, Wash. -- - Three inductees with ties to Washington State University were among the four former athletes enshrined in the Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Fame Oct. 16 at the Spokane Memorial Arena.

The inductees included Cougar graduates Jeanne Eggart Helfer and John Roskelley, along with Dan O'Brien, a former volunteer assistant track coach for WSU.

Helfer was a hoop and track star for WSU in the late 1970's and early 1980's, during which time she finished as the most prolific scorer in WSU basketball history, men or women, and for many years held the school javelin record. In 1980 she finished fourth at the U.S. Olympic Trials in the javelin. A 1982 WSU graduate and a member of the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame, Helfer went on to an outstanding coaching career in Spokane. Her Mead Panthers won three State girl's basketball titles.

Roskelley, who graduated from WSU in 1971, is a legend among international mountain climbers. The Shadle Park High graduate (Spokane) has climbed to the top of just about every major peak in the world. A former Spokane County commissioner, he was the first American to climb Nepal's Dhaulagiri in 1973 and his ascents of Uli Biaho in Pakistan and Gaurishankar in Nepal have yet to be repeated.

O'Brien, who attended the Community Colleges of Spokane and then the University of Idaho, assisted WSU head track and field coach Rick Sloan for nine years, 1996-2004. During his world-class decathlon career, he captured the Olympic Gold in 1996 and won three world championships in the 10-event competition, 1991, 1993 and 1995, along with two Goodwill Games championships.

Also inducted was Cheney (Wash.) High graduate Steve Emtman, who went on to an all-star football career at the University of Washington and the NFL.

In addition to the four inductees enshrined, two members of the Spokane sports community with many years of service were added to the Scroll of Honor, former Spokesman Review sports editor Jeff Jordan and retired judge Jim Murphy, who has long championed track and field locally and on a national basis.